One Bedroom Suite

[MiknMinMouse]

Can anyone who has stayed in one tell me how hard it is to get and if it's worth it. We did the two connecting staterooms this this past cruise and while we weren't cramped would have liked more room. We're spoiled because we're used to the 2bedroom villas at WDW. I know you're not going to get that same amount of room on a ship but I would like to maximize the room but not go too crazy with the price. There are 5 of us. Our next cruise is March 09.

 

[mommasita]

I have never stayed in a suite, but believe they are very hard to come by.

My suggestion would be to look at 2 connecting staterooms. It would depend on your needs/wants, etc. We book 2 connecting cat. 10 rooms, and leave the door between them open at all times, and we have our own virtual mini-suite. It is the best of both worlds for us. We have 2 TV's, 2 sets of washrooms, and tons of room.

It usually is cheaper to book this way, and there is a ton of privacy. Just wanted to give you that spin..

 

[stingmom]

Family of 5 here and we get 2 connecting rooms also. Lots of room, double the toilets, shower, sinks, beds and sanity. AND, it's cheaper than a suite! SWEET!

 

[m4travel]

Can anyone who has stayed in one tell me how hard it is to get and if it's worth it. We did the two connecting staterooms this this past cruise and while we weren't cramped would have liked more room. We're spoiled because we're used to the 2bedroom villas at WDW. I know you're not going to get that same amount of room on a ship but I would like to maximize the room but not go too crazy with the price. There are 5 of us. Our next cruise is March 09.

I understand your desire for space! Although there are only the two of us, we prefer a Cat. 3. We've sailed in the standard Cat 3 and will be in the midship, sideways Cat 3 in December. I'm thinking the sideways layout may have a bit more room. The living room/dining area was a bit cramped in the standard layout. We've also sailed in a Cat 6, which was nice, just more room in a 3! As long as we can afford it, we'll stay with the Cat 3s.

We plan at least a year in advance and haven't had a problem booking a Cat 3, however they have only a limited number available: Cat 1 - 2; Cat 2 - 2; Cat 3 - 18 (4 of which are handicapped accessible). They are all on Deck 8.

 

[frdeb1999]

We love the two cabins on deck 2...cat 9. I just can't see spending all that money on one room and just sleeping in it! We literally did'nt get back to our rooms til very late and in most cases...except for the day at sea where up and out by 7am. But then maybe that is just us. Just makes more sense as there are 5 of us to have double everything and still not pay as much as you would for 1 lrg room.

 

[MiknMinMouse]

We love the two cabins on deck 2...cat 9. I just can't see spending all that money on one room and just sleeping in it! We literally did'nt get back to our rooms til very late and in most cases...except for the day at sea where up and out by 7am. But then maybe that is just us. Just makes more sense as there are 5 of us to have double everything and still not pay as much as you would for 1 lrg room.

Actually in our family there was a lot of room time, especially with our 3 year old. He just wanted to chill sometimes with a new toy and our DD isn't a non-stop on the go person. So having space is pretty important to us since we spend probably more time than the average family in our stateroom. Our kids are just homebodies even away from home

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

Actually in our family there was a lot of room time, especially with our 3 year old. He just wanted to chill sometimes with a new toy and our DD isn't a non-stop on the go person. So having space is pretty important to us since we spend probably more time than the average family in our stateroom. Our kids are just homebodies even away from home

Our family is similar. Our teenage boys are homebodies even on vacation. We also do the 2 br when we stay at DVC resorts so that we have our space, they have their's, and we have some common areas. We've cruised two previous times with DCL and both times we've sailed in Cat. 1 and Cat. 2 suites and LOVED them! We love hanging out in our suite after an active day of excursions or just hanging out watching a movie together on an at sea day. Plus we order breakfast in the suite every morning! That is something we love to do when we cruise.

We're booked in a Cat. 3 suite for our next cruise hoping that our waitlist for a Cat. 1 or 2 comes through. We got the Cat. 3 suite mid-ship so that the murphy bed is in the living room. It isn't their own bedroom, but it will have to do.

I just priced out 2 connecting cat. 9 rooms for the same cruise we are booked for. It was about $1000 cheaper than the Cat. 3 suite for the week. If you break it down, that's less that $150 per day extra. For us, it is worth it to have the extra room and the luxury of the suite.

I think the suites are getting more popular so harder to come by. When we cruised this past January, we couldn't re-book onboard because all the suites for the released dates at that point had been booked. We booked a couple of months later and could only get the Cat. 3.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I just priced out 2 connecting cat. 9 rooms for the same cruise we are booked for. It was about $1000 cheaper than the Cat. 3 suite for the week. If you break it down, that's less that $150 per day extra. For us, it is worth it to have the extra room and the luxury of the suite.

It really does come down to personal preference. We'd rather use the $1000 as the downpayment toward another 7-day DCL trip and extra space really isn't a priority to us. I completely understand, however, that people have different priorities and preferences. That's why having cabin options is so great!

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

It really does come down to personal preference. We'd rather use the $1000 as the downpayment toward another 7-day DCL trip and extra space really isn't a priority to us. I completely understand, however, that people have different priorities and preferences. That's why having cabin options is so great!

I completely agree. It's one of the reasons we love Disney! When I stayed home with our children when they were younger, we stayed at an off site property during our Disneyland visits. Now we can pick where we stay. It's the same thing with the ships. Disney offers 12 layouts for the differing needs of the families that they serve. We love that. I also love that it doesn't matter which category of room you stay in, everyone is a guest and is treated the same!

It is all personal preference and what is right for your family!

 

[jkrohn2703]

I have been in a Cat 3 in the one with the Murphy Bed in the bedroom. It was nice, but for our next cruise it was almost $4800 more than 2 connect Cat 10's. We will see...my next cruise probably will be a CAT 4 or higher. This time I couldn't justify the extra money especially since we are only going for 4 nights on NYE WONDER. Will be rebooking on board for 2009 though CAT 4 or higher unless we just love the 2 inside rooms. But I will say, the CAT 3 was nice with a 19 month old, but she is now 4 and will probably spend most of her time with her older sibilings or the CLUB. There is no more napping or early to bed. If you are booking for concierge, it was nice, but now that we are CC members, I can do what they did for me.

 

[theostwalts]

We are a family of 5 as well. We are going on our first DCL in November and have a Midship Cat 3 booked. We wanted the space as well, especially with 3 children. We originally had connecting cat 6s booked and had to get on a wait list for the suite. It opened up and our TA called to see if we wanted it. It is my understanding that all of the suites book fast, so you may need to request the waitlist if one is not open when you book.

 

[Stepht5]

We love the Cat 3's! We have stayed in a Cat 3 twice and a Cat 1 once.
Our next booked cruise we are only in a Cat4 (we are on a waitlist for a suite) we are NOT happy about a regular rrom! LOL! Having seen a Cat 8 (we got our 2 oldest children one to share -- 23 & 26 at the time) and I know we would not be happy with 2 connecting Cat 8's....... We are a family of 5 -- mom, dad, teenager, 9ds & 6dd.

 

[CastawayJP]

Well one big benefit of concierge service (Cat 3 and up) is room service! You can even order off the Palo menu in Cat 2 and 1! We haven't splurged on a suite yet... We have two connecting porthole rooms next cruise so we'll see. For us it is all about the ship anyway!

 

[MiknMinMouse]

We're already booked for two category 4's. I thought about doing the suite & one 4 because in'laws might be with us, but after reading all of this, I think if possible I'm going to try for one suite and then if the in'laws go, book a separate stateroom for them. It sounds like one suite vs two 4's might be cheaper or equivalent.

 

[kaseyC]

We're already booked for two category 4's. I thought about doing the suite & one 4 because in'laws might be with us, but after reading all of this, I think if possible I'm going to try for one suite and then if the in'laws go, book a separate stateroom for them. It sounds like one suite vs two 4's might be cheaper or equivalent.

We did something similar for our upcoming cruise. Last October we booked a Midship Cat. 3 for our family of 5. In april, my mom expressed an interest in joining us. So we booked a Cat. 8 for my mom. Our TA suggested we move all 3 kids to my mom's reservation to save a few hundred dollars. We also waitlisted for Cat. 2 or 1 because that would accomodate all 6 of us. Our eldest DD will share the cabin with Grandma and the our youngest 2 will sleep in the suite with us.

We're another one of those families that enjoy hanging out in our cabin. Its nice to have the bedroom seperate from the living and dining area. We book it for the space, not for the concierge service which can be inconsistent. DCL could definately take some tips from the WDW Resort Concierge Services.

 

[JNorris]

Can anyone who has stayed in one tell me how hard it is to get and if it's worth it. We did the two connecting staterooms this this past cruise and while we weren't cramped would have liked more room. We're spoiled because we're used to the 2bedroom villas at WDW. I know you're not going to get that same amount of room on a ship but I would like to maximize the room but not go too crazy with the price. There are 5 of us. Our next cruise is March 09.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that you get the same amount of space in one Cat 3 as you do in 2 Cat 8's or 9's. The difference would be the concierge service and the verandah. We have stayed in a cat 3, and we have stayed twice in 2 cat 8's. We prefer the Cat 8's because you get more comfortable beds (the sofa pull-out bed in the Cat 3 we were in was NOT comfortable). In the two cat 8's, we had 2 queen size beds, 2 sofa pull out twins, and 2 ceiling beds.

If you are comparing the cat 3 to two cat 4's, I would think you would have more space in the two cat 4's. Just no verandah.

 

[pandamom]

We debated long and hard between a cat 3 or 2 adjoining cat 6's for our next cruise (dh, dd10, dd8 and I). In the end we chose the cat 6's -- the discount for booking on ship and the stateroom credits (dcl and aaa on both rooms) made the price difference just too much. Would of really of liked a cat 3 but know we'll have a wonderful time in the two cat 6's. (Heck we had a wonderful time in just 1 cat 6 last cruise -- just not enough room for all our "stuff".)

 

[nikkyluvsmickey]

we stayed in a cat 3 midship this last august and it was great. Unfortunately thistime we had to book a different cat 3 midship for next august. this one has the murphy bed in the bedroom i prefer it in the living room. But i can deal anthing to just be on that ship and with that huge veranda. i love waking up to the sound of the water outside.

 

[MiknMinMouse]

When I looked at the floor plan it actually looks like you have more bathroom space in the cat 3 as the bathroom looks larger. Also, don't all 4's have veranda's? After reading everyone's comments, I'm going to try for a 3 since that seems like it would really fit our family. If I can't get it, then we'll be happy with 2 4's . Hey, we're going to be on a cruise, what's not to be happy with

 

[MiknMinMouse]

Just thought of one more ?. For those of you who had the Cat 3, did you get them by faxing in advance or just when booking?